


It's Going Great, Why Do You Ask?

by UncreativeIndividual



Category: Star Trek: Lower Decks (Cartoon)
Genre: Dramedy, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-21
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:41:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27627616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UncreativeIndividual/pseuds/UncreativeIndividual
Summary: The sequel to Everything Is Fine.Mariner and Tendi have been dating in secret for a few months. It's going well, though the former does wish to keep the relationship a secret despite the latter's wishes.Then, Mariner's mom, Carol Freeman, starts to suspect something is up with her daughter. T'Ana gets stuck in the middle as the only one aware of the relationship, and Boimler & Rutherford are just confused as to what's happening. You can probably see where this is going.
Relationships: Beckett Mariner/D'Vana Tendi
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18





	1. Is This A Sort Of Parent Talk?

Another day, another planet, another second contact mission. Go down, act nice, make sure whatever species living there was living up to their end of their agreement with Starfleet, leave, rinse and repeat, day by day.

And as usual, Mariner was sitting around, bored as hell while waiting for her mom to finish talking with the-what was this species called? Whatever, she would have forgotten by tomorrow anyways. But for some reason it seemed to be taking longer than usual, and even Boimler was starting to fiddle around with his datapad to pass the time. They had to stay within range of where Captain Freeman was on these missions, probably after the two of them were caught handing out art supplies on Beta III. Yeah, they both got a lecture about that even with the....other thing that happened that day. Usually, she wished she was immediately back up on the Cerritos to do basically anything else. Though today, she did have a specific thing she had to do.

Something she wasn't exactly looking forward to either.

"Ensign Mariner, Ensign Boimler."

Guess it was time to go. Mariner always found it funny how quickly Boimler would stand to position whenever the Captain or someone important was around. He was such a dork.

"Get whatever you need, it's time to go.", Freeman told the two before starting her communicator and telling the Cerritos to bring them up. And with that, the three were back on the ship before they knew it. Mariner didn't wait to make a beeline for the door. 

"Ensign Mariner?"

Of course, Mom still had something to say to her. 

"Can I speak with you in private?"

"Does it have to be now?" was what was going through Mariner's mind, but what ended up coming out of her mouth was: "Yes, Captain."

Freeman motioned her daughter to follow her. Throughout their walk together, Mariner tried to avoid the stares from other crewmembers but she still caught a few and cringed. Even after a year of their familial ties being known, a lot of folks were still acting weird around the two of them when they were together, and individually, both were still dealing with people asking for favors or accusations of nepotism (which technically was true, but that's besides the point). It was getting better, but it was still really obnoxious.

The two reached a turbolift, which conveniently was opening as they approached it, making way for a quick entrance.

"What level are you going to?", Freeman asked.

"11.", Mariner answered and told the lift, starting it back up. Freeman decided not to wait to talk much longer.

"So how have you been?", she started. "Dr. T'Ana tells me you've been doing well with your check-ups since you recovered."

"Mom, I'm fine. My bones are good, my body is functioning, I'm okay."

"I'm aware, but....that was the closest I ever came to losing you. You can understand why I'm still making sure, right?"

Mariner's annoyance went away a little after that. "I guess.", she said. Freeman allowed herself a small grin.

"You also seem happier lately. Like a sincere, unironic happiness."

"You could say that, yeah."

"Must be something really good going on.", Freeman said with a knowing wink.

That got Mariner to also smile. "Nothing much, but yeah, there's some good stuff happening."

"You're saying that with the attitude of someone that's dating."

And like that, the smile disappeared.

"Wha-no mom, no. I'm not in that-that thing right now."

"I know, just joking with you.", Freeman said, lightly nudging her daughter. Mariner chose to go with it as they reached her level. 

"One more thing.", Freeman said before her daughter left. "You don't have to act all professional and call me Captain around others."

"I know, but I also know you'd prefer the 'professional' way."

"That's correct, yes. Now get on.", she parted with a wave as the lift's doors closed. Mariner was thankful that what her Mom wanted wasn't anything major. Potential crisis has been avoided for the time being.

"Now for the actual crisis.", she thought.

-

"So, how have you and Mariner been doing?", T'Ana asked. "It's been what, four months now, right?"

Tendi was cleaning the medical instruments with T'Ana at the end of the day. This had become a common occurrence for them, mainly due to how both benefited from the time together. T'Ana got help with the aftermath of the day's work, and Tendi got someone to talk to about her relationship.

"Four months and eighteen days, and we've been doing well.", Tendi started. "I think the closest we've gotten to an argument was over some simulation in the holodeck." Tendi looked up and saw T'Ana's curious reaction. She smacked herself internally for not realizing how that sounded without context.

"Not THAT kind of simulation."

"I didn't say anything.", T'Ana said with a chuckle, causing Tendi to groan. "But really, if that's the worst it's gotten, that's a good sign. Anything beyond that?"

"No, but there's still something not sitting right with me. I don't know, maybe I'm just worried that something's gonna come up that will-"

"Hurt things with you and Mariner?", T'Ana finished, getting a nod from the Orion. "Kid, look, in all the years I've been helping other couples with their issues, I've found that worrying about a hypothetical problem only makes actual problems. Even when I started dating Shaxs I had to help him with that?"

"Shaxs did that?"

"Oh yeah, he was a mess when we started out. But we figured out how to communicate with each other, and things have been great since. The point I'm trying to make is just focus on what's actually happening, not what MAY happen. Sound good?"

Tendi nodded, giving T'Ana the sign to start putting away the cleaned instruments.

But that wasn't it. "So, there is one more thing I wanted to talk with you about." T'Ana looked to attention. "But it's not just me, in fact it's not really me that wants to talk.", Tendi continued.

As if on cue, the doors to the medical bay opened with Mariner standing there.

"Hey, Dr. T'Ana.", she said with a nervous flair to it.

"Ensign Mariner.", T'Ana acknowledged. Tendi quickly eyed her girlfriend, who returned the look.

"You want to start?", Mariner asked.

"You can go ahead, I know you're more concerned about this.", Tendi responded. So, Mariner decided to go ahead with it, taking a deep breath before-

"Dr. T'Ana, I know you know about me and D'Vana. She told me a few days after we started dating, and she also told me that she spoke to you when I was in the coma. I want you to know that I appreciate you trying to be there for her, and I know you and I don't always get along-okay, we never get along, but I really do care for her and I want her to feel safe and comfortable with me and I just ask you that you keep our relationship a secret for the time being."

Mariner seemed out of breath by the end, and she wasn't gaining much after because she couldn't tell what T'Ana was thinking. Tendi was also getting more nervous.

"Tendi, can you give Mariner and I a moment?", T'Ana finally asked, still not entirely satisfying the pair, who looked at each other is confusion as Tendi left the room, leaving her partner and her boss alone.

"I noticed you called her by her first name."

Mariner looked back. "Um, yeah."

T'Ana moved closer to her. "She tells me some things about you. Nothing personal, but how you two interact. From I've heard, you seem to be really invested in this."

"Yeah, of course."

"So why do you want to keep it a secret?"

Mariner took a second. "There's still people that are going nuts over me and my Mom, and I don't want that to move onto her too. I mean, she, Boimler and Rutherford are already getting folks asking them to about me and her to the point where it's like, actual harassment. And if they find out I'm dating one of them....I just don't want that on her, that stress. But, I don't know if I'm just being selfish and thinking about myself more."

T'Ana nodded, looking towards the door as if Tendi was standing there. "You're not being selfish. Trust me, I know what that's like when you're keeping a relationship secret."

Mariner let out a small snicker. "I still can't believe that you and Shaxs-"

"Don't push it, Mariner. But yeah, I understand why you're thinking that, and the speech you gave me, while a bit dramatic, showed me that you care about her. Tendi's a good kid that I know is nervous about all this, so if keeping this a secret will help you two out, I'll do that."

Mariner's smile was sincere. "Thanks doc. Anything I can do for you?"

"Nah, just be a good partner to her. Now get outta here, tell Tendi I can finish up here and you two get some free time."

"Don't have to tell me twice.", Mariner said, heading out the room. T'Ana was amused.

"Children. I work with children."

-

As soon as they entered the turbolift, Mariner pulled Tendi into a kiss that seemed to last a long time before breaking.

"Missed you babe.", Mariner said.

"You were only gone for a few hours."

"I know, but it was a few hours I didn't get to see you.", she cooed, pulling Tendi closer. The latter blushed, melting into the arms holding her. "I missed you too. I wish we got to do more of this.", Tendi said.

"So do I, but we got shore leave in a few days, so we'll have enough time together.", Mariner said. "Oh, almost forgot. Happy four and a half month anniversary!", she exclaimed, pulling Tendi in for another kiss.

"It's actually been eighteen days in addition to the four months."

Mariner shrugged. "Close enough. Now come on, let's get some food. I'm starving."

The two stood in silence for a bit, enjoying each other's presense.

"I still can't believe T'Ana was a relationship counselor.", Mariner quipped.

"Yeah, I still think that's still the strangest thing out of all this.", Tendi giggled.

-

"Have you noticed that Mariner and Tendi have been doing a lot of assignments together lately?", Rutherford asked Boimler at dinner.

"Yeah, why do you bring that up?", the latter responded.

"I don't know, guess I just never assumed they would go together so well."

"Oh yeah, Tendi actually seems to be getting Mariner to work, or at the very least not blow stuff up as a first resort."

"Well they also seem to really like each other's company, but yeah, that too. That definitely leaves some paperwork on the table."

One part of that struck Boimler's curiosity. " 'Enjoy each other's company?' "

Rutherford was confused. "As in, they like hanging out together."

"Ah, okay. See, I thought you were implying...well...."

Rutherford quickly understood what Boimler was getting at. "Oh, oh no, I wasn't trying to imply that.", he said, getting him and Boimler to laugh. "That'd be something though."

"Yeah, the perfect example of opposites attract."


	2. Shore Leave

The station, Jeremiah Lane, got different reactions among Mariner and her group.

Well, they were all positive, but different types of positive. Tendi was excited, amazed by the scale, while also reminding her of Deep Space Nine, only if it was a space hotel. Boimer and Rutherford were fascinated by design, debating over what type of procedures it took to get that model. As for Mariner herself, she just thought it looked cool.

The mood among the crew of the Cerritos was reaching a boiling point by the time they docked, with basically everyone (except for Boimler) ready for a couple days of break. There was almost a rush amongst everyone as soon as the doors opened.

"So Boimes, how are you gonna survive for the next week now that you won't have any work?", Mariner teased.

"Funny funny ha ha. For the record, I still want to stay productive during shore leave, and I welcome any of you to join me.", Boimler responded.

"Oh my god dude, can you just lay down and rest or get a massage and not worry about some code or some other thing?"

"Well excuse me for actually being interested in what-"

"Oooookaaaay guys.", Rutherford said as he got between the two. "How about we just do whatever we want within reason and not cause trouble on our time off? What do you think, Tendi?"

"Yup, I think checking out how advanced the holodeck is sounds much more fun than having to explain to the Captain why we spent a night in their prison.", Tendi said, giving a slight side-eye to her girlfriend.

Mariner and Boimler silently conceded to each other, with the latter walking off to the entrance, Rutherford following quickly. Tendi and Mariner stayed for a second, though, with the Orion noticing a unhappy look on Mariner.

"Honey, I know you and Brad clash sometimes-okay, a lot of the time, but let's try not to fight on our time off, okay?"

Mariner sighed. "I know, I just really hate his pretentious, 'I'm better than you' attitude that he gives off."

"I don't think he means that, some folks just like to work a lot. Plus, he does have a point about how you don't think highly of work. Remember when we discussed that?"

"Yeah."

"And if I can say just one little extra thing, you also kinda have a tendency to look down on some people."

"I do not-well, okay, sometimes I do.", Mariner admitted, getting Tendi to giggle.

"Look, let's just get our rooms and enjoy ourselves, okay?", Tendi asked, bringing a smile to Mariner's face.

"Sounds like a plan, Dee."

"Dee?"

"Yeah, it's my nickname for you. Like it?"

"Yeah, it's cute. Can I give you one too?"

"Sure, shoot."

Tendi thought about it for a second, and the expression on her face indicated she had a great one. 

"Becky!"

-

"Can I just say, I'm really pleased with the performance your team has given lately, Dr. T'Ana.", Carol Freeman told the Caitian.

T'Ana looked up from her datapad. "Oh, well I'm happy to hear that, Captain."

"Yes, everything I've read tells me that there's been improvements with consistency, morale and most importantly results. Haven't had a death reported in several months from there. Unless you're hiding something."

T'Ana chuckled. "No secrets, just a good team."

"I understand that there's a certain Ensign you've grown close to as well."

"Oh, you mean Ensign Tendi? Yeah, she's really excelled with her work. Any reason why you bring her up?"

Freeman shrugged. "Just glad to know my daughter and her friends have a good influence around them."

T'Ana went still at that. Taking a second to think about what she would say next, she chooses the option to play dumb. "Uh, I didn't realize they were friends."

Carol immediately saw through that lie.

"You've been around them together several times. I think there was even one instance where Mariner pushed you into your nachos-"

"Oh yes, yes that! Now I remember.", T'Ana bursted out, trying to keep one foot ahead of the Captain. Despite it startling her, it seemed to work a little.

"Alright. Well, I just wanted to let you know that I'm grateful for the work from you and your team. Enjoy the shore leave.", Freeman told her. 

T'Ana was still trying to calm herself a little from the brief panic she had. She was telling herself that it wasn't worth the fear, Captain Freeman just probably meant it in a friendly manner, not a romantic one. She even brought up Tendi and Mariner's other friends, so why would she be worried? Just relax, and enjoy the vacation like the Captain told her too. Get some time with Shaxs while she was at it.

But that feeling of stress continued throughout the day.

-

"Wow, you guys got way nicer rooms than me.", Boimler said, admiring the paint job.

"Oh come on, you got some good stuff in your room. That bed looked comfy.", Tendi said in an attempt to reassure him.

"You guys all basically got king sized beds, mine is like a kid's one.", Boimler said, quickly shooting a glare at Mariner. "Don't even say it, Beckett."

"What, I didn't say anything.", she responded.

"I know you were thinking of a joke."

"What joke?"

"About my kids bed."

"Ooooh. Well, I wasn't, but now that you say it-"

"Mariner.", Tendi sternly said to her girlfriend, who gave a knowing smile in response. "If you'll ask Boimler to take it easy for shore leave, it's probably only fair that you drop the bullying for that same time." She finished that with a similar smile, holding back a giggle to Mariner reaction while taking in that request. Boimler gave her an appreciative nod to the Orion.

"Hey, I think I'm gonna go to bed.", Rutherford piped up. "I know we just got here but I don't want to waste too much time on shore leave by sleeping in."

"I'm with him. Goodnight you two.", Boimler added as he headed out with Samanthan. The two women gave their own goodbyes to their friends. As soon as they left....

"You're no fuuuuun!", Mariner whined. 

"Beckett, I love you, but-"

"Yeah, we talked about it with my attitude, I need to bully Brad less-"

"You shouldn't bully him at all."

"Come on, we all know that's impossible.", Mariner cracked. "Sooooo, do you want to stay here tonight?"

The request surprised Tendi. "Tonight? I thought you wanted to wait a few days before spending a night together."

"Yeah, but, I know that you've wanted some more time between you and I, so I figured, 'screw it', you know?"

Tendi wouldn't deny it: That warmed her heart. And Mariner could tell by her reaction that she agreed to it.

"Nice, so....", Mariner started, wrapping her arms around Tendi and pulling her onto her lap. "What do you wanna do?"

-

They ended up watching old tv together. It was also here when Mariner found out Tendi owned an Enterprise plush doll that she brought on the Cerritos. She found it adorable.

-

Carol was jogging around the station. It was something she liked to do to pass the time when she couldn't sleep. All the hallways and levels of the station seemed to blend in together, like an endless maze.

So don't ask how she was able to notice the numbered room that she recalled to be Mariner's. As soon as she did, all of her attention turned to it.

"Wonder how she's doing.", she thought.

Carol knocked at the door. "Beckett? How are you?"

No response.

"Beckett?"

Unbeknownst to her, Beckett was asleep inside, cuddled alongside Tendi and her Enterprise plush. 

Carol only figured the first part was the case.

"Best not to wake her now. I'll talk to her tomorrow.", she told herself before continuing her jog.


	3. A Reflection or Two

"Oh god, oh god what did I just do?"

Mariner knew she just messed up. Several times, actually. Her long ramblings at the bar made her miss basically everything at the Christmas party, she was reminded as to why she shouldn't dance, and she might have just messed up her relationship with Tendi.

Oh god, Tendi.

She didn't mean anything. She was a little buzzed, but still sober enough to know what was happening. When Tendi tried to kiss her, she reacted out of surprise, not disgust. But she didn't get a chance to tell her that, because she ran out, bawling her eyes out. She probably thought Mariner hated her, when the opposite was true.

This was what Mariner was hoping for.

She'd realized a few days ago that she felt for Tendi in *that* way, and was hoping to use tonight to tell her, though in a more formal way. But, well, you know how that went. Now here she was, running around the ship trying to find the-

Wait, was that crying?

Yeah, she could hear someone weeping from the janitor's closet. It wasn't loud, but it was audible. And she recognized that higher-pitched tone to it. She walked toward it, ready to confront the individual inside. That was before she abruptly stopped herself.

Mariner, who would go up against some of the biggest monsters in the universe without fear, was now hesitant to simply knock on a door. For a moment, she thought about how this could backfire hard, and only make things worse between the two of them. Was this the right move?

Eh, fuck it. When was she ever known for thinking things through?

"Tendi?", she asked as she knocked on the door.

-

It took some convincing, but Mariner managed to convince Tendi to come out and come with her to a spot in a more isolated area of the ship. This was her spot. Her quiet spot.

"You know how I asked you at the beginning of the night not to apologize for anything?", Mariner asked Tendi, who nodded in response. "Well, I still don't want you to if you were planning on doing so for what happened."

"It was still dumb of me to do, and-", the Orion began, but Mariner didn't want to hear it.

"D'Vana, please stop and look at me.", Mariner interrupted. Tendi's reaction seemed...worried? Oh god, did she seem to stern? She was making this worse, and she was yelling at herself internally to find a way to fix this.

Maybe now was the time. Just be honest with her. It was cheesy, but maybe it was best to just pour her heart out to her friend.

"Look, I...", she began. But something stopped her, and it told her that telling wouldn't be enough.

So, she let her instincts take over.

"You know, I think it's best I just show you instead of telling.", Mariner told Tendi before kissing her.

Time seemed to stop for a brief moment for her. Was this enough?

Well, the arms that she felt wrap around her told her so. That and the feeling of D'Vana leaning in.

After a while, Mariner broke the kiss. The shocked face she saw Tendi drove Mariner nuts.

"You-?" was all Tendi could get out. Mariner chuckled.

"Yeah."

Mariner asked Tendi if she wanted to stay here for a while, which she said yes to. They sat just sat there in silence, Mariner doing her best to keep her companion comfortable. Did she do enough? She should probably check with Tendi. Christ, she's getting insanely paranoid-

Oh, Tendi was asleep. She looked adorable and peaceful.

'I think I did okay.", Mariner thought to herself.

-

Mariner awoke immediately after that. Taking a minute or two to gain back her senses and remember where she was, it dawned on her that she was dreaming all that.

Not that the dream wasn't something that happened, Tendi being cuddled along her was proof of that. She never got sick of how she was like when she slept.

Something about that dream was sticking with Mariner. She couldn't explain it, but it was just a memory she loved of the two of them. Hell, she could probably say she loved all of their time together even if it had been limited to just a few months.

-

The two were sitting side by side at the bar. They kept their distance from the other patrons there so they could keep their privacy. It was a nice, casual night for the two. They were still settling into their relationship, but so far, things were going calmly.

Then D'Vana spoke up.

"Hey, Beckett? There's something else I need to tell you."

"Where you lying about never being in a relationship? Like I said, no way anyone would resist you.", Beckett chuckled, before taking a swig of her drink.

"I told Dr. T'Ana about my feelings for you before I told you."

Like something out of a bad & old comedy movie, Mariner spat out her drink.

"DR. FURBALL!?"

-

Okay, that one was a little messy. But Mariner understood it after D'Vana explained the specifics of it. She just needed to make sure, which led to some pretty amusing conversations on their first date....

-

"Did she attack you? Did she harass you? Did she try to bribe you for info about my Mom-"

"Mariner, none of that happened!", Tendi stated with an exasperated tone. "She was just, you know, giving me advice. It's okay, you don't have to worry about me."

"Alright, alright, but-"

"I know, but it's okay, you can trust her.", Tendi said while grabbing her girlfriend's hands. She gave her a quick kiss for good measure. "Now, what is it you wanted to do?"

Mariner perked up. "Oh yeah, come with me to the holodeck. I got something cool for you!"

When they got outside the holodeck, Mariner asked Tendi to close her eyes. She complied, but the human put her hands over the shut eyelids for good measure. Directing her to the middle of the room, she still had D'Vana keep the eyes closed as she brought up her simulation. When the Orion was told it was okay to look, she was delighted by the appearance of-

"The Adashake Center!"

Tendi was blown away. It may not have been the real thing, but everything she had heard and known about the Center was there. It was her beautiful dream come true.

"I know you said you hadn't visited it before you left for Starfleet, but I thought it would be nice for you, even if it's not the rea-"

Mariner was cut off by Tendi's kiss.

"It's perfect.", D'Vana told Beckett as she melted into her arms, causing the latter to blush.

-

"Good morning, Beckett."

The tired voice came from D'Vana, who clearly just woke up, still snuggled against her partner's chest.

"Morning. How you feeling?"

"Tired, but good.", the Orion cracked. "What are you thinking about?"

"Hm?"

"You looked like you were thinking about something."

Mariner smiled.

"Just some nice stuff."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait since the last chapter, school, work and other projects took priority. Wanted this chapter to be more of a dive into Mariner's POV since the last story was more Tendi-focused, and I want this to have an equal amount of attention for both. Hope you like it.


	4. T'Ana has a really bad day

Shore leave was wonderful. After god knows how many months of weird science experiments, barely any rest, and relationship drama, T'Ana was grateful to lie down and just enjoy herself. Of course, that time eventually had to end, and now she was on her first day back to work, with a renewed feeling of energy, and, for the first time in what feels like years, not wanting to stab herself with scissors upon entering the medical bay.

An hour after she arrived, her full team, including Ensign Tendi, had arrived. T'Ana saw the liveliness in all of them, and it made her more confident in today's assignments. It was such a nice feeling to have.

For about two minutes.

Because before she could say a word, the alarm went off. It was a red alert, specifically.

"RED ALERT! ALL HANDS TO BATTLE STATIONS! WE HAVE AN INCOMING BORG FLEET!" That was what came out of the intercom, and like that, any optimism T'Ana had vanished.

"You all know what to do.", she plainly said to her team, who quickly left. T'Ana followed suit, though her destination was the main bridge of the ship. The entire main crew was there, including Captain Freeman, who was debating with Ransom on their strategy.

"I truly believe the best option we have is to wait for reinforcements, Ransom"

"Captain, reinforcements will take too long. If we don't maneuver around them, we'll end up like the Solvang."

"I say we dive headfirst into an attack, get the upper hand on them before they make their move!", Shaxs suddenly suggested. God, T'Ana loved him so much.

"What if we tried a more peaceful solution and spoke with the Borg?" That was the suggestion suggested by Ensign Boimler at the control panel, and that actually seemed to unite the entire population of the bridge. In that they all looked at him like he was a fucking idiot.

"Never mind.", the purple haired man meekly said.

"Dr. T'Ana, any suggestions?", the Captain asked.

"Captain, I'm a doctor, not a-"

Her statement was interrupted by the visual of a missile, specifically one of THEIR missiles, flying out and hitting one of the Borg Cubes. The entire bridge was silent for a moment.

"MARINER!", the Captain shouted towards her daughter, who was also at the control panel with Boimler.

"That wasn't me, I swear!", she defended. Freeman didn't buy that and turned on her communicator.

"Billups, did you receive a notification of a manual missile launch?"

"I did receive A notification, Captain, but not manual. It looks like a technical glitch caused it."

Freeman's face went from an expression of accusatory anger to loss of a will to live.

"A glitch-"

BAM! The Borg Cubes were firing back now. 

T'Ana's communicator went off. "We have several injuries on Level 6!"

Then it went off again. "Level 8 also needs medical assistance!"

And again. "Level 11 too!"

"Level 13!

"Level 17!"

"Level 20!"

"Level 14 is like something out of a Doom game!"

"DR. T'ANA!"

The Caitian was snapped out of her daze. The call came from the turbolift area, where Tendi and two other Ensigns from her team were there. "We came by to assist you wit the injured crewmembers.", the Orion continued. T'Ana was reminded that she actually had a job to still do.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming, get your tools."

-

The next few hours were a shitshow. Debris from the ship was flying and falling everywhere, the ship was flying all over the place to avoid the lasers from the enemy ships & caused them to lose balance, and the amount of injured was too high to count. It seemed like with every level there was at least a dozen people to carry back to the medical bay. A fair amount of those needing assistance were some of the medical crew. Even better.

The next several hours after that involved a lot of blood, yelling, and overall unpleasantness. It all went by in a blur, with time seemingly stopping amidst the entire mess. So it was a surprise for T'Ana to discover that it was past 8 by the time the last patient was stabilized. She practically collapsed into a nearby chair when she was alone.

The door to the medical bay opened, with Shaxs standing there. T'Ana's spirits lifted a bit when he came through, he was always much more mellow around her.

"Hey honey.", T'Ana muttered.

"Hello, T'Ana.", Shaxs responded while approaching her, giving a kiss when he arrived. "Are you alright?"

"Define alright."

"Are you physically healthy?"

"I'm worn out but my body is still functioning."

"Good, I was hoping that was the case."

"Can you stay here for a bit, I don't think I can get up anytime soon."

"I'm afraid not, I have to speak with Ransom about the incident report. I just wanted to make sure you were alright."

That disappointed T'Ana, but she understood. "Alright, go on now." The two quickly kissed again before Shaxs departed. She stayed there for a bit longer, almost dozing off a few times. Eventually, she found the strength to get back up, and decided now was the best time to take a shower.

-

After getting some clothes from her room, she quickly began her trek to the showers, hoping to finally get a moment of-

"Dr. T'Ana!", Captain Freeman shouted when she appeared out of seemingly nowhere.

Oh what now.

"How are you, I understand there were a lot of-"

"Yes, yes.", the Caitian interrupted. "We got it sorted out. Every one of the patients are stable, and should be able to return to work within a week."

"I understand, and I wanted to take a moment to show my appreciation for your work."

"It's nothing Captain, really." T'Ana just wanted to get out of this as quickly as possible.

"I also wanted to ask you for a favor."

"Do you want me to take over on the bridge?"

"Oh no, I was wondering if you could introduce me to Ensign Tendi."

T'Ana felt her heart stop at that point.

"Tendi?"

"Yes, I'd like to get to know her. That and find out her secret with my daughter." Clearly that was meant to be a joke, but it might as well have been her way of telling T'Ana she was onto them.

"I-I could arrange that, Captain."

NOW Carol was starting to notice something was up. "Are you okay, T'Ana?"

"Yes, I'm okay.", T'Ana said with some faux life. "I just need to sleep and shower. It's been a long day." She started her walk again. "See you tomorrow captain.

-

She went through the hallways of the ship, having to maneuver around some of the debris still not cleaned up (that was gonna be a bitch to do tomorrow). The ship could be like a maze sometimes, but eventually you get where you need to go, which T'Ana did. She was so tired and focused on getting washed that she didn't notice certain....noises, coming from one of the stalls.

But that didn't last long. She heard....was that kissing? Some giggling?

Oh.

T'Ana sighed. "Tendi, Mariner."

A sudden silence, followed by the two slowly, and awkwardly, leaving the bathroom stall.

"Hiiii, Dr. T'Ana", Mariner got out, both her and Tendi forcing smiles on their faces.

T'Ana sighed again. "You know, if you want to keep this a secret, maybe doing it in the bathroom when anyone can walk in is not the best idea."

The couple both got an embarrassed flush on their faces, before quickly leaving the area. "See you tomorrow.", Tendi parted with. At this point, T'Ana was just done.

"I swear if the fucking water is cold."

-

The water was freezing cold.


	5. Dinner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry it's been so long without an update. Writer's block is a bitch.

"MY MOM WANTS TO DO WHAT!?"

T'Ana had gotten Mariner and Tendi into the med bay after the day's shifts. A day had passed since Captain Freeman had asked the Caitan to introduce Tendi to her and speak with the Orion alongside her daughter. T'Ana, feeling nervous about the proposition and the reaction from the younger women, she chose to inform them right away.

It wasn't going well.

"Now, Beckett, I understand why you're feeling this way-"

"Nononononononono-this is not happening.", Mariner repeated as she paced around the room. Tendi attempted to keep up with her and calm her down, but it was to no avail.

"Babe, honey? Beathe with me, okay?", the Orion told her companion after getting her still. She motioned her to breathe in and out through the nostrils. It took a few tries, but eventually Mariner caught on. It seemed to be working.

"Better?"

"Better.", her human mate muttered, accompanying with a small grin. Things were looking up. "Okay, so what exactly does my mom want to do, Dr. T'Ana?"

"She wants to have dinner with you, me and Tendi and speak about your 'friendship'."

And with that, Mariner started freaking out again.

-

"Are you serious?", Rutherford asked.

"Yeah, apparently Antedians and Lionfish work really well together in hectic situations.", Boimler said.

It had been a strange day on the Cerritos for Brad and Sam. Strange, in that nothing really happened. They were actually able to get their assignments done on time without much distraction, there wasn't any major attacks or mishaps, it was just...normal. Or at least, "normal" normal.

"I'm really thankful for these last few days, you know. It's nice for things to just be calm and to only stress about immediate things.", Boimler continued.

"Yeah, it feels kind of weird, admittedly, but I enjoy it too.", Rutherford added.

There really wasn't much else to say. Things were still and average on the ship for the time being, and there wasn't really much of not to discuss.

Boimler was especially appreciative. "Normalcy. It's really underrated on-"

"Uh, why are the Captain and Dr. T'Ana down here?", Rutherford interrupted.

-

"I really cannot thank you enough for this, T'Ana.", Carol said.

"Of course, Captain." T'Ana presented a calm and casual nature on the outside, but on the inside, she was metaphorically screaming into a pillow. She was supportive of Tendi and her relationship with Mariner, but she was unable to keep up with the pace that it was going at. Not that it was the fault of either of the younger women, but this was a night she had been dreading. It was reminding her of some terrible 21st Century movie she watched once. What was it called, Meet The Family or-

Wait, why was this at the front of her mind right now?

"So tell me about Tendi. For starters, what's her first name?", the Captain chuckled.

"Oh, yes." T'Ana was sipping from her drink commonly to keep her cool. "Well, D'Vana is her name. It's apparently a common one on Orion."

"Interesting. It's a nice one, too."

"She's also very gifted when it comes to surgery. She knows around twelve techniques, and has gotten several patients out of critical condition with her work."

"Wonderful! She seems like a perfect member of your team."

"Certainly. At first, you know, she was like the usual newbies. Excited, annoyingly hyper, always asking a million questions about everything. But, she showed that she had the talent to be in her position, and she's grown on me. I'm glad to have her."

"Good to hear. How do you think she managed to connect with Mariner and her friends?"

Oh god, there's the question. This was definitely gonna require a bigger drink.

"Well, from what I know, Mariner essentially invited her into the group and just went from there."

"Hmm. She's not usually the type that immediately connects with people. What do you think made her an exception?"

T'Ana was starting to panic. She was hoping, pleading with whatever higher being there may be, to interfere with-

The couple in question finally arrived. Guess her pleas were heard.

-

"Okay. Stay calm, stay calm.", Mariner muttered.

"I am calm.", Tendi told.

"I'm talking to myself."

"Oh."

Now Tendi was starting to feel nervous.

"Mariner! How are you?", the Captain asked, rising out of her seat to hug her daughter.

"Uh, I'm-"

"Ensign Tendi." The Captain suddenly was putting her attention on her daughter's companion and shook her hand. "We've met, obviously. But I'm glad that I finally get the chance to know you."

To her credit, D'Vana was doing an okay job at playing it cool. But Beckett and T'Ana could still notice the fear in her eyes.

"Yes Captain, I feel the same with you. I've really liked...working with Mariner."

"I've noticed, which is why I asked the two of you to join Dr. T'Ana and I tonight.", Carol said as she motioned the two younger women towards the table. The couple sat across from each other.

"So how did you two meet?", Carol asked.

"I was Tendi's guide on her first day.", Mariner said. So far, she was doing okay at keeping her cool.

"Yes.", Tendi added. "She introduced me to Ensigns Boimler and Rutherford, showed me around the ship, and we just really clicked."

"That's good to hear. Beckett doesn't commonly interact with many people, so she must have really liked how you looked to bring you into her circle of friends that quickly." Carol gave her daughter a nudge after that. She gave a polite chuckle, carefully eying her girlfriend to signal to her to do the same. Tendi obliged.

T'Ana, meanwhile, sat there, fiddling with the straw in her drink. She was attempting to keep her emotions to herself.

"So, what's your secret?", the Captain asked as she turned to the Orion.

All three of the participants seemed to stop breathing at that point.

"Secret?"

"With my daughter."

"Mom, I don't think Tendi understands what you're asking."

"I've noticed a change in your tone since you've started being around her more."

"What does that mean?"

"Well, not to discredit you, but you've been a bit more responsible lately."

"I guess I've been doing some more work with her."

"Heh, I wish I had her around earlier."

Now Mariner was starting to become irritated. Tendi noticed this.

"In Mariner's defense, a lot of this was of her own will."

"Yes, but with how much you two have been together, I've found that there's a correlation-"

"We're really close friends. That's it.", Mariner sternly interrupted.

Carol did not appreciate that. "Mariner, if this is something you would rather not talk about, I understand. But I don't want you to-"

"Then why did you bring it up in the first place!?"

That got some attention.

-

"They look really uncomfortable."

Boimler and Rutherford were watching the conversation between their friends, the Captain and Dr. T'Ana from their table.

"Probably nothing big.", Boimler observed. "It's probably about that transporter issue from earlier-"

"Then why did you bring it up in the first place!?"

That stopped the both of them, as well as the rest of the dining room.

Mariner, noticing this, chose to leave. Tendi, reluctantly, followed suit.

After a while, the Captain left too, though in a different direction than the two Ensigns. That left T'Ana alone at the table.

The two human males decided to approach her.

"Dr. T'Ana, what-"

"You don't want to know.", she said after downing her drink.


End file.
